Sabres' skid reaches 14, lose Hutton early to injury against Rangers

NEW YORK -- Kaapo Kakko ended a 19-game goal drought by scoring twice, and the New York Rangers handed the Buffalo Sabres their 14th consecutive loss, 5-3 at Madison Square Garden on Monday.

The Sabres (6-20-4) are 0-12-2 since Feb. 25, matching the longest stretch without a win in the NHL since the shootout was introduced in 2005-06. The 2009-10 Carolina Hurricanes, 2010-11 New York Islanders and 2014-15 Sabres each went 14 consecutive games without a win.
"We don't want to dwell," Buffalo coach Don Granato said. "We can't think of a streak. We can't think of a streak when you're on a winning streak. You don't. It's a competitive industry, you have to be a competitor, and you have to plow through and let it go."

Sabres goalie Carter Hutton made two saves before a lower-body injury forced him out of the game at 2:53 of the first period. Dustin Tokarski relieved Hutton and made 33 saves in his first NHL game since Oct. 28, 2016, with the Anaheim Ducks.
"It was a lot of fun," Tokarski said. "It's been a little while. I've had some ups and downs in the last four, five years, but it's been a good few years. I'm excited to be a part of Buffalo and get the opportunity to play in a game."
Chris Kreider scored two goals, including the game-winner on the power play at 5:47 of the third period after the Sabres tied the game 3-3 by scoring on their first two shots of the period.
Adam Fox had a goal and two assists in his 100th NHL game, Artemi Panarin had three assists, and Keith Kinkaid made 16 saves for the Rangers (14-13-4), who are 4-1-1 in their past six games.
"You sometimes get caught up in the standings but they're still a good team, they're an NHL team there, and they have NHL players," Fox said. "For us, it was important to continue our strong play against one of the top teams like [the] Washington [Capitals, a 3-1 win Saturday] and carry that over."
The Rangers played their fourth straight game with Kris Knoblauch, the coach of Hartford, their American Hockey League affiliate, as acting coach. David Quinn and assistants Jacques Martin, David Oliver and Greg Brown remained unavailable in accordance with NHL COVID-19 protocols.
New York is 3-1-0 under Knoblauch.
"They just seem really resilient, and there's nothing fazing them right now," Knoblauch said. "We did have a 3-1 lead. Guys could have been upset and really worried, playing tight, but they didn't. They just continued to play on."

Dylan Cozens got Buffalo within 3-2 at 1:09 of the third, and Jeff Skinner scored with a shot far side from the right face-off circle on a breakaway to tie it 3-3 at 4:22. Cozens missed the past four games with an upper-body injury.
"It's nice to show some fight and get a couple goals and get back in the game," Skinner said.
But Casey Mittelstadt went to the penalty box for high-sticking Julien Gauthier at 4:57, and Kreider scored his second power-play goal 50 seconds later to give New York a 4-3 lead.
Kakko scored into an empty net at 19:02 for the 5-3 final.
"They played hard, they made it hard on us, and a lot of credit to them," Rangers center Mika Zibanejad said. "Obviously, this was one of the games we wanted to win, and it's as important as those Washington and [Philadelphia Flyers] games. We've got to keep it going."
Rasmus Asplund gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 3:52 of the second period.
Kakko tied it 1-1 at 7:13, scoring from in front off a pass from Panarin. It was Kakko's first goal since Jan. 22.
"It always feels good when you score a goal, but after a long time even better," Kakko said.
Kakko replaced Colin Blackwell on the line with Panarin and Ryan Strome for the offensive zone face-off. He stayed on that line the rest of the game.
"The way [Kakko] has been playing the last three or four games, we felt he was ready for more responsibility," Knoblauch said. "His play determined that switch. He deserved it."

Kreider gave New York a 2-1 lead with a 5-on-3 power-play goal on a net-front tap-in off a pass from Panarin at 10:39.
Fox scored off a rebound to extend the Rangers lead to 3-1 at 18:18.
"Obviously, this game means a lot more for the Rangers than the Sabres," Knoblauch said. "We call these trap games, where you get up so much playing Philadelphia. You've got to pass them to get into the playoffs. Then you play the hottest team in the NHL in Washington, and now you're playing Buffalo. But I think the effort and execution was pretty good tonight."
NOTES:Sabres forward Kyle Okposo was out with an undisclosed injury. He remained in Buffalo to get further evaluation. … Buffalo has been outscored 58-23 in the skid. … Rangers forwards Brett Howden and
Phillip Di Giuseppe
were not available because of COVID-19 protocols. … Fox has 63 points (11 goals, 52 assists) in his NHL career. Among defensemen to debut with the Rangers, he has the fourth-most points in 100 regular-season games (Brian Leetch, 30-69-99; Sergei Zubov, 16-75-91; Reijo Ruotsalainen, 21-51-72). … Strome had two assists and has eight points (one goal, seven assists) during a six-game point streak. … Kreider joins Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers, Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Kyle Connor of the Winnipeg Jets as the only NHL players who have scored at least eight even-strength goals and at least eight power-play goals this season.